Reviews Archives - Page 43 of 128

Victrix Pro AF Gaming Headset: The Kotaku AF Review

I am not sure what I like more about the Victrix Pro AF universal gaming headset. Is it the way it sounds, or the way its active noise canceling makes everything else shut up? Or maybe it’s the fact that they called it “Pro AF.” It’s kind of a ballsy naming convention, putting “Pro AF”…

By Mike Fahey Published December 14, 2018

ReviewsYear in Review

The State Of Fandom In 2018

In 2018, the meaning of fandom is in flux. The relationship between fans and creators is in some ways more tense than ever before, even while fandom itself has reached a point where a simple piece of fanart can become an international sensation overnight. Fans Gain New Powers, For Better And For Worse The relationship…

By Gita Jackson Published December 14, 2018

ReviewsYear in Review

The State Of PC Gaming In 2018

PC has never been a singular platform like, say, PlayStation or Xbox. Instead, it’s a series of disparate landmasses sharing the same turbulent sea. While this has allowed for plenty of innovation and experimentation over the years, in 2018 Steam—with its clutter and toxicity issues—has become less of a conduit and more of an impediment…

Heather Alexandra & Nathan Grayson Published December 13, 2018

ReviewsYear in Review

The State Of The Nintendo Switch In 2018

As sophomore slumps go, the Nintendo Switch’s wasn’t so bad. When the Switch burst onto the scene in 2017, it could seemingly do no wrong. It was the new kid on the block: young and cool, with an air of mystery and excitement. So it goes with most new game consoles. In 2018, Switch hit…

Chris Kohler & Cecilia D'Anastasio Published December 12, 2018

ReviewsYear in Review

The State Of The PS4 In 2018

The PlayStation 4 remains a top-flight gaming platform as it wraps up its fifth year and enters a 2019 sure to be full of PS5 rumors, interesting exclusive games, and the possible launch of the most-requested feature in PlayStation Network history. The PS4’s strong 2018 was highlighted by top-quality blockbusters God of War and Marvel’s…

Gita Jackson & Stephen Totilo Published December 12, 2018

ReviewsYear in Review

The State Of Xbox One In 2018

In sports they call it a rebuilding year. Xbox One has had a few of those recently, but it’s an especially appropriate description of the console’s 2018. This wasn’t a year for new hardware nor a major blockbuster exclusive game. The most exciting announcement to come out of Microsoft was the news that it is…

Ethan Gach & Mike Fahey Published December 11, 2018

ReviewsYear in Review

The State Of Nintendo 3DS In 2018

At this time last year, I predicted that the aging Nintendo 3DS would probably be sent to its grave after Christmas 2018. Recent events have caused me to reconsider. I am now here to argue that you should prepare for the Nintendo 3DS to stay alive for a couple more years at least—if you can…

By Chris Kohler Published December 10, 2018

ReviewsSwitch

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: The Kotaku Review

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the very best of the Smash Bros. series. If you’ve got 20 years of accumulated Smash memories, from the button-mashing neighbor kid suggesting you play Kirby in grade school to drunkenly playing a round of all Bowser, Poké Balls only in college, you’ll find that they are done great justice…

By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published December 6, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom: The Kotaku Review

I spent an hour and a half tackling a single platforming sequence in Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom. Not an entire level or area. Just a short series of perilous jumps that I couldn’t quite get my head around. I loved every teeth-gritting, cursing-under-my-breath moment. Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is a spiritual…

By Mike Fahey Published December 4, 2018

ReviewsHardwareGame Systems

PlayStation Classic: The Kotaku Review

PlayStation Classic is a faithful reproduction of the experience of playing original PlayStation games in the mid-1990s. In that respect, it succeeds. What it lacks is passion. This piece originally appeared 11/27/18. We’re bumping it today for the PlayStation Classic’s release. With Nintendo roundly rejecting the idea of a Nintendo 64 Classic in the foreseeable…

By Chris Kohler Published December 3, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Fallout 76: The Kotaku Review

Fallout 76 is filled with intriguing ideas, set amid an appealing post-apocalyptic sprawl ripe for exploration. It’s also a mess. The latest Fallout sheds the narrative focus of its its single-player predecessor, Fallout 4, and introduces an online multiplayer setup where the human-controlled strangers you meet are supposed to fuel a new sort of storytelling.…

By Ethan Gach Published November 28, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Battlefield V: The Kotaku Review

Battlefield V is complicated, sweeping, and enjoyable to play. Its narrative highlights World War II’s lesser known fronts, and its competitive multiplayer is fast-paced and action-focused. It’s romantic, it’s exhilarating, and I can’t shake the feeling that something is off about it. For every grand feat of daring, there is a tension that I can’t…

By Heather Alexandra Published November 20, 2018

ReviewsSwitch

Pokémon Let’s Go! Eevee and Pikachu: The Kotaku Review

Pokémon Let’s Go! Pikachu and Eevee are going to be divisive. The games seem meant to introduce a new generation of players to Pokémon, especially players who started with Pokémon Go. The changes made to gameplay may frustrate longtime fans, including me; I started playing in the late ‘90s and kept up with the franchise…

By Gita Jackson Published November 16, 2018

ReviewsBoard Games

Architects Of The West Kingdom: The Kotaku Review

Architects of the West Kingdom is what you get when a designer takes a very good board game they’ve already made and figures, you know what, I’ll now do something similar, only better I reviewed Shem Phillips’ Raiders of the North Sea earlier this year after absolutely loving it. A simple worker placement title, it…

By Luke Plunkett Published November 13, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Hitman 2: The Kotaku Review

Hitman series protagonist Agent 47 isn’t an interesting guy. Despite his gleaming, barcoded head, he disappears into a crowd. He can somehow pass for anyone, no matter how famous; he can seamlessly live their life and look great in their pants. He uses this ability to wreak havoc everywhere he goes. Hitman 2 investigates this,…

By Riley MacLeod Published November 13, 2018

ReviewsToys

Secret Warriors Dolls Bring Marvel Characters To A New Audience

Two years ago DC and Mattel launched the DC Super Hero Girls toy line, bringing comic book characters to the woefully underserved audience of young women. Now Marvel and Hasbro follow suit with Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors, a line of dolls that highlights the publisher’s diverse roster of young adult heroes, including the Unbeatable Squirrel…

By Mike Fahey Published November 9, 2018

ReviewsPS4

Tetris Effect: The Kotaku Review

Tetris Effect takes the pure, near-perfect game design of the classic puzzle game and injects a cocktail of hallucinatory visuals mixed with a sublime soundtrack. It’s a refreshing, modern update to a classic with an optional virtual reality component and more than anything, it’s also the kind of game that I think we desperately need…

By Paul Tamayo Published November 9, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Starlink: Battle For Atlas: The Kotaku Review

In Ubisoft’s toys-to-life adventure, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, players are given access to a virtual (or physical) armada of starships and set loose in a gorgeous alien solar system, where they’re free to do the same seven or eight things over again until the game ends or they get bored. The opening moments of Starlink…

By Mike Fahey Published October 26, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Red Dead Redemption 2: The Kotaku Review

From tip to tail, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a profound, glorious downer. It is the rare blockbuster video game that seeks to move players not through empowering gameplay and jubilant heroics, but by relentlessly forcing them to confront decay and despair. It has no heroes, only flawed men and women fighting viciously to survive…

By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2018

ReviewsMultiplatform

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4: The Kotaku Review

The fourth installment of Treyarch’s Black Ops series might be the first Call of Duty to forgo a single-player campaign. But after a spate of less-than-fully-satisfying entries in the once-reliable series, putting the full force of its efforts behind the multiplayer has paid off: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 finds the perfect middle ground…

By S.E. Doster Published October 15, 2018